Sena flares up over power

FACED WITH the loss of recent parliamentary elections in Mumbai and nearby areas, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday took up a “cause” of Mumbaiites by protesting against the rise in power tariff.

Launching an aggressive campaign by torching trucks, disrupting traffic and pelting stones, Sena leaders courted arrest and held demonstrations in the suburbs. Western Express Highway and other major roads in the suburbs saw traffic jams as hundreds of Sena workers took to the streets. The police registered 10 offences in different police stations. “Protesters torched three trucks, including two of Reliance Energy at Kandivli and Goregaon. Stone pelting incidents were also reported from some places,” said an official at the police control room. The police beat up the protestors with batons and arrested 126 sainiks, including senior leaders Subhash Desai, Gajanan Kirtikar and Sunil Prabhu, for arson and traffic disruption and detained over 100 others. Desai, Kirtikar and other sainiks who were involved in the violent protest were produced before various courts and granted bail.

Desai said the party had to resort to this after previous appeals had fallen on deaf ears. “We have made appeals to the minister for power and the chief minister too, but since they didn’t pay heed to our complaints we are now on the streets. This protest will continue until a solution is worked out,” Desai said. He asked the government to intervene with the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission and put off the increase in rates. The distribution companies should be instructed to make billing according to the old rates, he added.

Tags

Community Affairs,Other Legal/Illegal Affairs,Political Affairs

Note: Please visit the Newspaper's Website to Print the contents of the article